Information Society, Citizens and Everyday Life: Does the Internet Make a Difference in Spatial Practices?

Information society, citizens and everyday life: does the Internet make a difference in spatial practices?

TOMMI INKINEN

Inkinen, Tommi (2003). Information society, citizens and everyday life: does the Internet make a difference in spatial practices? Fennia 181: 1, pp. 25–33, Helsinki. ISSN 0015-0010.

The essence of the information society has been under a considerable debate during the last decade. The argumentation concerns the critique of technological determinism and the recognition of political, economic, social and cultural factors that underlie the development. In academic discourse, there has been a noticeable change from engineering based rhetoric towards more humanistic themes and a more qualitative way of speaking about the issue. Also geographical dimensions, mainly related to the urban research and applied urban planning, have emerged. In this paper the essence of the information society is analysed from a perspective of human and cultural geography. The concept of information society is being treated as a subjective construction and it can be conceptualised as a triad. Firstly, it is a tool as such, and the reference is on material symbols representing the tech-sphere of today. This includes actual devices such as computers and mobile telephones and their integrated applications. Secondly, the information society is a set of practices. This refers to everyday routines that are rarely questioned or critically explored. The most common examples of this are e-banking and e-shopping. Finally, the information society is an experience. This theme is characterised by subjective histories, individual contexts and cultural backgrounds. All these dimensions have implications on environment and social conditions of human life. This framework is being used as a tool to evaluate empirical data based on extensive survey conducted in Finland in the year 2001. The sample size was 2750 questionnaires of which 1176 were received back.

Tommi Inkinen, Information Society Institute, University of Tampere, FIN-33014 Finland. E-mail: [email protected]. MS received 9 January 2003.

Introduction (e.g., Turkle 1995; Morse 1998; Crang et al. 1999) to economic decision-making and business (e.g., Computerisation is a symbol of the informational Kalling 1999; Shapiro & Varian 1999). society. Computer systems comprise one of the The purpose of this article is to evaluate some most distinctive and complex technologies of the ideas and issues through which the computerised late 20th century. Many of our transactions with information society can be assessed. These ideas organisations are mediated by computers as re- will finally have effects on visible reality: thus, flected in payments, rents, bank transfers, etc. they are spatial (spatiality is conceptualised However, not only has the economic side of the broadly here). It includes the recognition of hu- society been transformed, but also social interac- man-nature interaction and the aspect of lived tion and mental travelling through enhanced me- social interaction. There are three essential ques- diated network systems. The debates about the tions. First, is there a “common” experience of the social and environmental implications of informa- information society among the respondents? Sec- tion and communication technologies (ICTs) are ond, will different forms of “mobile media” and scattered throughout diverse fields and can be the Internet change practices in physical move- found in texts ranging from humanistic geography ment? Third, are these technologies having an im- 26 Tommi Inkinen FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) pact on the everyday life of citizens? The ques- The citation comprises essential points of the tions are explored with the data obtained from an geography of the information society. Especially extensive survey study conducted in Finland networking has been adopted as one of the lead 2001. processes made possible by the new innovations in communication technologies. In this regard, Manuel Castells has presented so far the most ex- A brief outlook of issues tensive theoretical synthesis about the character of the ongoing societal transformation. Castells’ Analyses regarding the information society approach is founded on macro-level analyses and is strongly associated with the economic activi- The information society is a concept of a variety ties in the global context. The essential argument of meanings. In academic discourse, the informa- is that in the current situation, networked socie- tion society has commonly been discussed with ties are interacting with others through global city reference to economic activity and the signifi- nodes (also Graham & Marvin 1996). This char- cance of knowledge in production processes (e.g., acterises the development in which (post)modern Crang 2000; Wilson & Corey 2000; Karvonen capitalist societies are moving towards a new “in- 2001; Castells & Himanen 2002; Kellerman 2002; formational” mode of production. This transition May 2002). During the 1990s, mainly due to the has had its origins in the crisis of Fordist accu- commercialisation of the Internet and the mass mulation, and it has become possible because of production of mobile phones, the information so- major technological breakthroughs in the process- ciety became associated with information and ing of information. Economic globalisation has communication technologies. However, ordinary ensured that the new trends will be spreading fast citizens are often forgotten in the discourse con- all over the world and profits will increasingly be cerning the information society. Information so- based upon the production of a new knowledge. ciety should, after all, be a concept used to de- Modern firms turn into knowledge-producing or- scribe present time and thus contemporary soci- ganisations that operate and establish networks on ety – and should not be treated as particular set- a worldwide scale (see Castells 1996; 1997; 1998; ting or segment of a society. 2001). The information society has also gained the in- The core essence of the “informational mode terest of geographers. Kellerman (2002) has ex- of development”, as presented by Castells (1996), tensively analysed concepts related to information can be characterised through five factors. First, and communication technologies and geograph- information has to be seen as a product and a re- ical dimensions of the information society. Kell- source. Information is something with value and erman discusses the geographies and geographi- thus a commodity. Second, the technology is all- cal studies assessing the dimensions of informa- pervasive in its essence. We all are living our lives tion, knowledge, ICTs and the Internet in partic- with technologies and technology is an essential ular. According to him (2002: 30): part of all segments of society and the future de- “Information is viewed as an abstract object… velopments. The third characteristic is the logic As an object it has its own geography. Cyberspace of networking, which is an essential feature of constitutes a phenomenon of virtual space, con- modern information technology. The fourth fac- sisting of Internet information and its users. Infor- tor is the further growing flexibility in the soci- mation, on the other hand, enjoys geographical etal structures. Hierarchical organisations are los- dimensions, spaces and aspects beyond cyber- ing ground to flexible models of management and space. Electronic information is produced in real production. This takes place not only in corpora- places, and used in real places as well… Infor- tions but also in everyday life: work and leisure mation is an economic as well as social product, time are intertwining and fragmented modes of produced and manipulated in a similar way to performing actions are becoming increasingly other resources and products… This seemingly popular. Finally, technological systems are con- non-spatial dimension of information has received vergent and integrative. Already existing systems a spatial accent with the emergence of the World are integrated into the new ones and finally their Wide Web, in which geographical language has separation will be impossible (Ahlqvist 1999:3). become a major tool for the structuring, organi- For the purpose of this paper, Castells’ fourth char- zation and use of cyberspace.” acterisation is the most interesting. However, FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) Information society, citizens and everyday life:… 27 components from all definitions are to be found wealthy and highly industrialised countries in in the opinions written by the respondents. terms of transaction volumes and concentration Simultaneously with the “informationalisation” of hosts (e.g., www.mids.org). In addition, the process modern societies are undergoing other electronic or digital divide within industrialised important changes. New developments can be countries is also evident. This is noticeable on the seen, for instance, in the area of work, in the spa- socio-economic scale between both humans and tial organisation of modern societies, in the eve- regions. The virtual space is clearly not a space ryday lives of citizens and in the role and func- for all inhabitants even in Nordic information so- tioning of governments. Significant changes are cieties. experienced also in the ways in which individu- The experience of space refers to the feeling als are building their own personal identities and generated through the virtual representation. In- mobilising themselves politically (Holmes 1997; teraction, on the other hand, refers to the social May 2002). Common to all these definitions is the interaction within the network. This interactivity, emphasis on the role of information and knowl- based on social communication, is thus interwo- edge and its role as resource or product. This in- ven with the conception of difference, referring cludes the central role of information and com- to the space of otherness – what and where we munication technologies and the growing flexi- are not. The construction of Internet chat identity, bility in the structures of economy with the growth for example, can be argued to be a subjective ex- of the service sector and proportion of “knowl- perience of space and is always a contextualised edge workers”. The changing role of work and the process involving cultural, environmental, and concept of knowledge as its main component are educational implications. Negative and unwant- crucial when the conceptualisation of the infor- ed processes of harassment and oppression can mation society evolves. As a matter of fact, the also be identified in the network environment most important transformation deals with the in- (e.g., MacKinnon 1997). People similar to each creasing the knowledge-intensiveness of human other tend to communicate more eagerly with life. In this process, the development of the new each other than with those who are misfits. New ICTs provides only the necessary tools for the and reproduced patterns of social relations are change, and in this respect it might be appropri- evident in cyberspace as the different tendencies ate to use the concept “knowledge society” (Web- to experience virtual space result in the forma- ster 2002: 29). tion of Internet or cyber-behaviour. The connection can be established between the Electronic communications and real-world essence of the usage location, result- experienced spaces ing from the special characteristics of the location (material) and personal desires and the goals The theorisation related to space is one of the of the end-user (social), and Internet forums of major intellectual challenges in the evaluation of communication such as chat-rooms and IRC. The electronic representations. I will assess these in public–private theorisation is essential in the con- relation to the use of public spaces and experi- sideration of interactions between the real world enced notions of represented environments. The context and the Internet usage content. They are following themes present arguments studied with interwoven, and this leads to the recognition of the structured questions in the empirical part. the fact that change in one has consequences for Many authors have explored the dualistic no- the other (Jensen 1990: 71–72). In this regard pub- tion that the e-space has both public and private lic control over the Internet is important, as point- tendencies (Virilio 1994: 64; Jones 1995: 13; Fern- ed out by Jones (1995). Public interests in the form back 1997: 39; Poster 1997: 217). For example, of control and jurisdiction are experiencing both actions related to privacy, intimacy and personal convergence and divergence with private inter- desires, such as personal email communication, ests, in areas such as, freedom of speech, intel- seeking a potential life-mate on the Net and chat lectual property, copyrights and self-expression. communications are generally regarded as pri- In terms of the Internet policy and control, the vate. Conversely, the Internet is often regarded as balance between individual, public and corporate a freely accessible realm and, due to this charac- interests is in still an open question. teristic, as a public space. However, the Internet The experience of space and, in broader sense, is an “information super highway” only in the reality is essentially contextual. Linguistic narra- 28 Tommi Inkinen FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) tives and construction processes of reality through language always include a major intellectual and philosophical challenge. This applies also to the studies of the Internet and other new ways of communication. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate some key arguments widely presented in theories of cyber-life or “new forms of electric being”. In the following empirical section, issues ris- ing from these theoretical perspectives are discussed and analysed based on empirical data.

Empirical evidence and results

The data were collected in a mail survey in March 2001. It included three regions, namely, the urban area of the city of Turku, the archipelago, and the rural area (Fig. 1). This stratification was made to assure the general nature of the data. The total sample size was 2750 questionnaires of which 1176 were returned. The response rate was 42.8 percent. The questionnaire was sent to individu- Fig. 1. The three research areas in SW Finland. als with the principle of one questionnaire per household. This procedure broadened the disper- sion of the sample set. The form contained a total of 52 questions. Six of these questions are discussed and analysed in nication. The goal of these open questions was to the following. The questions are related to the use gain a more comprehensive understanding of the of public spaces and changes in everyday prac- perceived significance of technological develop- tices and movement. They will be referenced lat- ment in ordinary life. These open questions were er in the text with their prefix number. analysed through a classification procedure. For (1) Do you consider yourself as a part of the each open question three to six broad categories information society? (yes/no) and open lines were constructed. These can be described as dis- (2) Do you think that the Internet has changed courses even though the method is not related to your daily movement? (yes/no) and open lines qualitative discourse analysis (e.g., Silverman (3) Do you think that the Internet has made your 1994). life easier in your living environment? (yes/no) and The survey was conducted using a systematic open lines random sampling method. The survey was target- (4) It has been said that the Internet makes dis- ed to persons of work age (from 18 to 60). The tance meaningless. Do you agree? (yes/no) and methods used are common statistical tests includ- open lines ing chi-square based tests (phi, Cramer’s V and (5) Do you think that the Internet services pro- contingency coefficient) and log-linear models. viding representations of real world locations Three essential independent variables (numerical) (e.g., virtual cities) are able to fulfil the experi- and their properties are displayed in Table 1. Three ence of the subject? (yes/no) and open lines categorical variables such as gender are also (6) How would you define the concept of “vir- grouped into separate section with percentages tual travelling”? (nominal variable with 5 alterna- and absolute numbers. These independent varia- tives) bles were tested with official statistics provided The open questions dealt with the significance by Statistics Finland. There are no significant dis- of the information society, the benefits and weak- parities between the data sets, and therefore the nesses of Internet services and any change of their most important independent variables (age, edu- everyday lives that has occurred as the result of cation and gender) are not biased in relation to the computerisation and mobilisation of commu- the larger sample of Finnish population. FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) Information society, citizens and everyday life:… 29

Table 1. Essential independent variables and their proper- the data. First, 69% (811 cases) of the respond- ties/proportions in the survey data. ents use a personal computer. The usage level is Age in years Mean: Median: higher than the ownership level of 54% (642 cas- N = 1172 42.7 44.0 es). The official percentage of households own- ing a PC provided by the Statistics Finland in Number of persons Mean: Median: living in the house- 2.5 2.0 March 2002 is 49.2. The survey data are some- hold N = 1170 what biased in this respect. Regardless of the bias, Time (yr) lived in Mean: Median: the data are adequate to give a general picture of the municipality 16.6 14.0 the usage of the technology on a broader scale. N = 879 Second, 39.5% (465 cases) of the sample pop- Gender Male: Female: ulation have an Internet connection at home. This 48.3% 51.7% figure is lower than expected. The average usage (N = 568) (N = 607) time of the Internet is a little over one hour per Education Aca- Poly- Second- Elemen- day for those individuals who are using the Inter- demic: technic: ary: tary: net daily. In these data the most important Inter- 16.5% 23.5% 39.8% 20.2% net service is online banking. Over 50% of Inter- (N = 194) (N = 276) (N = 467) (N = 236) net users in the data use different banking servic- Household Highest: Upper Lower Lowest: es at least twice a week. However, if the whole income 18.4% quarter: quarter: 19.3% data are considered including those who are not (N = 211) 31.0 % 31.2% (N =221) using the Internet, the relative amount of persons (N = 355) (N = 357) doing banking via the Internet diminishes to Owns a car Yes: No: 19.2%. Other services such as Internet shopping, 81.9% 18.1 % are at a considerably lower level. Only 7.5% of (N = 968) (N = 212) the sample population uses the Internet for shopping occasionally (once or twice a year). Question (1) dealt with the general experience and significance of the term “information socie- All categories in Table 1 are evenly distributed. ty” from the viewpoint of ordinary citizens. In di- The coverage of the sample is relatively good even chotomous form 702 individuals (59.7%) regard- though the response rate among the unemployed ed themselves to be part of the contemporary in- (6.6%) is lower than the figure provided by Sta- formation society. It is noticeable however, that tistics Finland (10.3% in April–July 2001). A gen- 444 persons (37.8%) experienced that they are eral feature of the data is that they represent well outside of it. The latter figure must be considered the working and studying population but not the high. From the open-ended definitions (totalling unemployed. The bias of the survey is towards 568 expressions) three categories were created on those with high income and education. This is a the basis of the written contents. In table 2 these general problem related to all survey data (e.g., classes are presented with three sample answers de Vaus 1996). with gender and age information provided. The household income level in Table 1 perhaps The first category has 131 (23.1%) answers. In requires an explanation. In Finland the average these answers, the information society was expe- income level (for an individual) is 2141 € per rienced through work and expanding possibilities month. Considering gender division the males to career progress. In some answers the technol- have an average income level of 2354 € and fe- ogy was evaluated as a significant transformer of males 1924 € per month. The division into dis- life. The general attitude of the respondents in this played four income groups in Table 1 is based on first category is on the optimistic side and in some the figures provided by Statistics Finland cases, over-optimistic, regarding their attitudes (29.8.2002). towards the effects of new information technologies. The second category contains the answers The experience of the information society related to practical experience of technology. A and general facts total of 312 answers (54.9%) were classified in this group. The common feature in these answers It is useful to clarify some facts about the usage was that the essence of the information society of the Internet, computers and mobile phones in constitutes mainly as devices or their explicit us- 30 Tommi Inkinen FENNIA 181: 1 (2003)

Table 2. The mental construction of the information society ences were made to banking practices and library according to generalised opinions. book renewals. It seems that the Internet is not Category 1: Positive benefits and technological utopianism changing the actual practices in movement except – The information society is a society with no borders in the case of these specific services (e.g., bank- and distances (male, 43) ing). – Easy services and access to various information The experience of an “easier life” through net- resources (female, 27) – The adoption of new information technologies and work technologies is interesting. Less than half their usage (male, 37) (43.7%) of the persons using the Internet stated Category 2: Devices, communications and everyday prac- that it had significantly improved their lives. The tices main contribution that the Internet has in the pur- – I have a computer, mobile phone and fax – isn’t that suit of a better life derives from easy access to an information society (female, 25) timetable information and library services. The – A society with a lot of information and data (female, 29) diminished significance of distance is commonly – A computer as an essential part of everyday work acknowledged. 70.9% of the Internet users feel (male, 51) that the tyranny of the distance is defeated Category 3: Threats and uneven development through technological advancements. 75% of the – Information society is a society of unfairness (male, open-ended answers include statements related to 38) the social communication with the Internet and – Destruction (male, 48) – A nightmare of humans living their lives through a e-mail. Distance is meaningless because individ- computer screen (female, 52) uals are able to connect to same services and persons regardless of their physical location. Based on the results, it seems that the adver- tised information revolution has clearly made it- self known but the actual effect on physical real- age. In 16% of all the answers the information ity is limited. In other words, people tend to think society was described as a society of mobile that there are some changes going on but these phones and computers. This reflects a common changes have no discernible consequences on way of evaluating technological innovations and movement and physical acts. The open-ended their daily significance through practices. definitions show that distance is mainly under- The answers grouped into the third category stood as a social construction. The old concep- were negative in their attitude. There were in to- tion of time-space compression has therefore tal 125 (22.0%) answers in this group, which been upgraded to the sphere of social communi- makes it roughly the same size as category 1. The cation. amount of people experiencing the information society as a hostile or unpleasant development is The experience of virtuality surprisingly high. The negative answers were more common among the older (over 50 yr) respond- Questions (5) and (6) dealt with the claim of ents. Devices are experienced as difficult to use “transforming life practices from the street and and personal incapability of learning was com- public places to the private sphere”. The concept monly stated as the most important issue. of virtual experience was analysed with a nominal variable with five alternatives. Also, the sig- The information technologies, movement nificance of virtual cities was assessed with di- and the end of distance chotomous variable and open-ended definitions. These questions have a deep philosophical Questions (2), (3) and (4) dealt with the argument background, involving the idea of separating vis- that the advent of computer mediated communi- ual knowledge from actual knowledge. In other cation will transform earlier communication prac- words, the phrase “I know that there are no more tices and eventually make distance or physical Twin Towers in NY” can be justified via direct ex- movement obsolete. If physical movement is con- perience (I have been there) or indirect assump- sidered, the Internet has had a little effect. Only tion (I saw a picture/broadcast about it). This re- 8.9% of those using the Internet feel that they lates the computer presentation to the essence of have changed their ways of movement in the ontology. “I know what this city looks like – I vis- physical environment. The most common refer- ited the place” or “I know what the city looks like FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) Information society, citizens and everyday life:… 31

– I saw a 3D version of it on the Internet”. The the levels of ownership (computers, home Inter- empirical evidence shows that the public takes net access and mobile phones) in different areas. the question very much for granted in a negative The significance of local cultures and local ways sense. Only 5.1% of the Internet users consider of life gain importance. The access to technology the knowledge obtained through virtual model- is not a regional issue, but the cultural and social ling to be satisfactory substitute for the real world construction of the experience and feeling relat- experience. The open-ended answers emphasised ed to these technologies is. the limitations of the two dimensional screen to An interesting finding in the data was the non- provide a comprehensive experience of a city. significant role of gender in the usage of the In- Respondents considered the concept of “virtu- ternet and mobile phones. In the data both sexes al travelling” mainly as marketing rhetoric used similar services with similar usage levels. (35.2%) and pre-knowledge gathering (53.8%). In However, a significant relationship was estab- this sense, the virtual experience diminishes to an lished in leisure usage. Women tend to use com- alternative to traditional paper travel guides. Less municative technologies more for social activities than 4% regarded that the virtual models to be than men do. However, for both groups work re- acceptable as a substitute to actual travelling to lated usage is the most important. This illustrates the city. The virtual models and representations the nature of innovation to even out between sex- were mainly described as technically proficient es. A commonly held belief is that men are more abstractions but lacking in content value. active in the use of technologies than women are. Two important findings can be addressed. First- This survey suggests this is a (false) stereotype in ly, there is the learned presumption of technolog- the Finnish context. ical change and secondly, there is the practical The use of one technology supports the use of routine of everyday life. This division illustrates other technologies. There are clear covariation the fact that the belief in technological change is patterns with the dependent variables meaning adapted from advertising or literature. However, that a person using one technology is likely to it rarely has an impact on physical movement and adopt the usage of other technologies. People us- the person’s environment. The way of life seems ing a variety of Internet services tend to use also to stay the same, even though time-space com- a variety of mobile-phone services. Combined pression in movement and communication is ev- solutions, such as a laptop with cell phone creat- ident. The concepts of knowledge and assumption ing wireless Internet connectivity, were also eval- are also of importance. The change is a construc- uated as a means to gain efficiency. However, the tion that can be deconstructed into the tangibili- number of persons taking advantage of these serv- ty of technological devices, the daily practice ices is very limited. Less than 4% of the cell phone (with the technologies) and knowledge achieved users are using their phones for payment proce- through these actions. dures and banking services.

A description of the independent and dependent variable relations Conclusions and future prospects In the following I will discuss some brief notions One way to interpret the results obtained is to concerning the results of the covariance and re- conclude that the most essential changes taking gression analyses. The usage of the new informa- place in the information society development are tion technology is connected mainly to age and not happening solely at the level of technology. education. Observed income level was also a sig- Beliefs, values and, most importantly, contextual nificant explanative variable, but as commonly local cultures and ways of living are essential de- acknowledged, it is highly multicollinear with terminants underlying the actualising reality. The several other independent variables (e.g., educa- construction of the information society is always tion). The data were also analysed in relation to dependent on the contextual setting in which the urban-rural residence. The urban-rural dimension societal changes are taking place. In these settings was characterised by a more critical attitude in various societal actors participating the process the countryside. This means that rural dwellers do have their specific goals and strategies, which fi- not use technologies as much as city dwellers do. nally determine the realised form of the develop- However, there were no statistical differences in ment. 32 Tommi Inkinen FENNIA 181: 1 (2003)

At the empirical level, the concept of the “in- mainly pragmatic and the penetration of the more formation society” is experienced mainly through advanced services in the usage cultures is still devices as indicated by the results of question (1). rather limited. Theoretical reviews and thoughts concerning the The contemporary status of the information so- effect of ICTs and particularly the Internet on ciety is an important challenge for researchers. masses of citizens often overestimate the short- The academics have only recently started to re- term impact of these new innovations. Moreover, ceive reliable empirical evidence about the soci- estimates also have a tendency to underestimate etal impacts of ICTs, but now it has become an change on a long-term period. The fuzziness of open question whether we should at all speak the “information society” and its conceptual con- about the spatial changes or the transformations tent require empirical understanding to support of the society. If there are transformations, what theoretical arguments. The essential question of is their extent and significance in the broader and, the information society of the future is how to in- inevitably, global development scheme? Re- clude individuals who now are excluded both on searchers still have a limited amount of data re- the levels of practical skill (cannot) and mental garding the citizens thinking about the new ICTs experiencing (will not). and the information society – particularly after the In geographical sense, the most essential theo- burst of the .com bubble in 2000 and 2001. retical arguments since the early 1990s have been Three essential themes of future research are trying to assess the significance of distance in the addressed in the geographical sense. First, to ob- information age (e.g., Brunn & Leinbach 1991; tain more comprehensive data sets within indus- Mitchell 1995; Castells 2001). These impacts were trialised countries. Even though there is a consid- analysed in questions (2) and (4). In the light of erable amount of theoretical literature regarding the empirical results, it is evident that the re- the contemporary information technology and spondents distanced themselves from the naive human relations, empirical data sets are limited “technological bliss” rhetoric according to which and are often too superficial. Second, the inter- the information technology revolution and the national aspect of computerisation is important. development of the information society would How are the information technologies used in dif- automatically lead us towards a “spatially non- ferent cultures, and, are there significant differ- significant” and highly multi-lateral boundlessness ences in these practices? This relates to the third society. Observed levels of the web content us- theme, on what scale do traditional cultural man- age also indicate the same. The most important ners and beliefs affect the usage of the new infor- service having impacts on movement is ebanking. mation technologies? By addressing these ques- People do not visit physical bank locations as fre- tions, the essence of the information technologies quently as before, but it remains unclear whether in computerised societies can be evaluated with this has significant implications for the total more depth. amount of movement. Moreover, if the whole sample is concerned, only 37% of the respondents are using the Internet bank services. This fig- REFERENCES ure is of course increasing as time passes but in the contemporary situation the usage level must Ahlqvist T (1999). It is all about relations: exploring be regarded low. the geographies of networks. In Alhqvist T, T Ink- The potential substitution that virtual systems inen & S Tuhkanen (eds). Towards doctoral dis- or interactive computer applications have is con- sertation. Publicationes Instituti Geographici Uni- versitatis Turkuensis 161, 1–15. centrated on issues related to leisure and infor- Brunn SD & TR Leinbach (eds) (1991). Collapsing mation collection as indicated by question (6) and space and time. 404 p. Harper Collins, London. open-ended definitions from questions (3) and (5). Castells M (1996). The rise of the network society. Human life and particularly the lived everyday 556 p. Blackwell, Oxford. geography is still very much real world based Castells M (1997). The power of identity. 461 p. (bound). There are, however, certain subgroups Blackwell, London. Castells M (1998). The end of millennium. 418 p. within the society who have serious problems Blackwell, London. with the Internet addiction, for example, but in Castells M (2001). The Internet galaxy: reflections on the data the relative amount of these respondents the Internet, business, and society. 292 p. Oxford is marginal. In the broad sense, Internet usage is University Press, Oxford. FENNIA 181: 1 (2003) Information society, citizens and everyday life:… 33

Castells M & P Himanen (2002). The information MacKinnon RC (1997). Punishing the persona: cor- society and the welfare state. The Finnish model. rectional strategies for the virtual offender. In 200 p. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Jones SG (ed). Virtual culture. Identity & commu- Crang M (2000). Public space, urban space and elec- nication in cybersociety, 206–235. Sage, London. tronic space: would the real city please stand up? May C (2002). Information society. A sceptical view. Urban Studies 37: 301–318. 189 p. Polity, London. Crang M, P Crang & J May (eds) (1999). Virtual ge- Mitchell W (1995). City of bits: space, place, and ographies. Bodies, space and relations. 322 p. the Infobahn. 225 p. MIT Press, Cambridge. Routledge, London. Morse M (1998). Virtualities. Television, media, art, Fernback J (1997). The individual within the collec- and cyberculture. 266 p. Indiana University Press, tive: virtual ideology and the realization of col- Bloomington. lective principles. In Jones S (ed). Virtual culture. Poster M (1997). Cyberdemocracy: The Internet and Identity & communication in cybersociety, 36– the public sphere. In Holmes D (ed). Virtual Pol- 54. Sage, London. itics. Identity & community in cyberspace, 212– Graham S & S Marvin (1996). Telecommunications 228. London, Sage. and the city. 434 p. Routledge, London. Shapiro C & HR Varian (1999). Information rules a Holmes D (ed) (1997). Virtual Politics. Identity & strategic guide to the network economy. 352 p. community in cyberspace. 248 p. Sage, London. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Jensen J (1990). Redeeming modernity: contradic- Silverman D (1994). Interpreting qualitative data: tions in media criticism. 221 p. Sage, London. methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. Jones SG (1995). Understanding community in the 325 p. Sage, London. information age. In Jones SG (ed). Cybersociety: Turkle S (1995). Life on the screen. Identity in the computer-mediated communication and commu- age of the Internet. 347 p. Simon & Schuster, New nity, 10–35. Sage, London. York. Kalling T (1999). Gaining competitive advantage Virilio P (1994). The vision machine. Translated by through information technology. A resource- Julie Rose. 81 p. Indiana University Press, Bloom- based approach to the creation and employment ington. of strategic IT resources. 336 p. Lund University de Vaus DA (1996). Surveys in social research. 411 Press, Lund. p. UCL Press, London. Karvonen E (ed) (2001). Informational societies: un- Webster F (2002). Theories of information society. derstanding the third Industrial Revolution. 284 257 p. Routledge, London. p. Tampere University Press, Tampere. Wilson MI & KE Corey (eds) (2000). Information tec- Kellerman A (2002). The Internet on earth. A geog- tonics. Space, place and technology in an elec- raphy of information. 265 p. Wiley, New York. tronic age. 272 p. Wiley, Chichester.